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Officer at Delaware's Vaughn prison has tested positive for COVID-19

Saturday, April 4, 2020

An officer who had been working in Delaware's James T. Vaughn Correctional Center near Smyrna has tested positive for COVID-19.

Viral outbreaks are particularly dangerous among those in prison, where inmates are frequently in close contact with one another and officers. Officials say no inmate has tested positive, but they are preparing.

Police may question you at state line

Friday, April 3, 2020

Crossing into the First State? There's a chance you may have to explain to a police officer why.

Delaware and other states have begun enforcing restrictions on out-of-state visitors traveling to their states for nonessential purposes. On Friday, reporters observed state police preventing some out-of-state visitors from entering local stores in northern New Castle County.

State continues to wait on rapid tests

Friday, April 3, 2020

Some 5,000 rapid COVID-19 tests have been held up in a bureaucratic mire, an example of how governments are scrambling for tests.

The rapid tests are particularly in need for first responders and hospital employees, allowing them to continue work as quickly as safely possible. They will also help the state identify potential outbreaks at high-risk locations like assisted-living homes.

Plenty of cars still drive along Kirkwood Highway on Thursday, April 2, over a week after Gov. Carney issued a stay-at-home order for all non-essential workers in Delaware amid the coronavirus pandemic. Jenna Miller/Delaware News Journal

Plenty of cars still drive along Kirkwood Highway on Thursday, April 2, over a week after Gov. Carney issued a stay-at-home order for all non-essential workers in Delaware amid the coronavirus pandemic. Jenna Miller/Delaware News Journal

Anita Bezy looks outside from La Boquette Bakery and Catering on Governors Avenue in Dover Thursday. She said she had to lay off 15 employees and is now open for takeout only on Wednesdays and Fridays. Gary Emeigh/Special to the Delaware News Journal

The beach areas of Rehoboth and Dewey, usually gearing up for the summer season, are quiet due to restrictions meant to halt the spread of COVID-19 amid a global pandemic. Chuck Snyder/Special to the Delaware News Journal

Maybe it will happen at Funland in Rehoboth Beach, time will tell. The beach areas of Rehoboth and Dewey, usually gearing up for the summer season, are quiet due to restrictions meant to halt the spread of COVID-19 amid a global pandemic. Chuck Snyder/Special to the Delaware News Journal

A city of Rehoboth Beach worker checks the barricades to the boardwalk as the beach areas of Rehoboth and Dewey, usually gearing up for the summer season, are quiet due to restrictions meant to halt the spread of COVID-19 amid a global pandemic. Chuck Snyder/Special to the Delaware News Journal

Route 1 through Dewey Beach has little traffic as the beach areas of Rehoboth and Dewey, usually gearing up for the summer season, are quiet due to restrictions meant to halt the spread of COVID-19 amid a global pandemic. Chuck Snyder/Special to the Delaware News Journal

The beach areas of Rehoboth and Dewey, usually gearing up for the summer season, are quiet due to restrictions meant to halt the spread of COVID-19 amid a global pandemic. Chuck Snyder/Special to the Delaware News Journal

Rehoboth Avenue has few walkers as the beach areas of Rehoboth and Dewey, usually gearing up for the summer season, are quiet due to restrictions meant to halt the spread of COVID-19 amid a global pandemic. Chuck Snyder/Special to the Delaware News Journal

The beach areas of Rehoboth and Dewey, usually gearing up for the summer season, are quiet due to restrictions meant to halt the spread of COVID-19 amid a global pandemic. Chuck Snyder/Special to the Delaware News Journal

The beach areas of Rehoboth and Dewey, usually gearing up for the summer season, are quiet due to restrictions meant to halt the spread of COVID-19 amid a global pandemic. Chuck Snyder/Special to the Delaware News Journal

The beach areas of Rehoboth and Dewey, usually gearing up for the summer season, are quiet due to restrictions meant to halt the spread of COVID-19 amid a global pandemic. Chuck Snyder/Special to the Delaware News Journal

The beach areas of Rehoboth and Dewey, usually gearing up for the summer season, are quiet due to restrictions meant to halt the spread of COVID-19 amid a global pandemic. Chuck Snyder/Special to the Delaware News Journal

The beach areas of Rehoboth and Dewey, usually gearing up for the summer season, are quiet due to restrictions meant to halt the spread of COVID-19 amid a global pandemic. Chuck Snyder/Special to the Delaware News Journal

The beach areas of Rehoboth and Dewey, usually gearing up for the summer season, are quiet due to restrictions meant to halt the spread of COVID-19 amid a global pandemic. Chuck Snyder/Special to the Delaware News Journal

The beach areas of Rehoboth and Dewey, usually gearing up for the summer season, are quiet due to restrictions meant to halt the spread of COVID-19 amid a global pandemic. Chuck Snyder/Special to the Delaware News Journal

Route 1 near the Indian River Inlet has little traffic as the beach areas of Rehoboth and Dewey, usually gearing up for the summer season, are quiet due to restrictions meant to halt the spread of COVID-19 amid a global pandemic. Chuck Snyder/Special to the Delaware News Journal

The beach areas of Rehoboth and Dewey, usually gearing up for the summer season, are quiet due to restrictions meant to halt the spread of COVID-19 amid a global pandemic. Chuck Snyder/Special to the Delaware News Journal

The beach areas of Rehoboth and Dewey, usually gearing up for the summer season, are quiet due to restrictions meant to halt the spread of COVID-19 amid a global pandemic. Chuck Snyder/Special to the Delaware News Journal

The beach areas of Rehoboth and Dewey, usually gearing up for the summer season, are quiet due to restrictions meant to halt the spread of COVID-19 amid a global pandemic. Chuck Snyder/Special to the Delaware News Journal

Parking spaces are empty on Wilmington Avenue in Rehoboth Beach. The beach areas of Rehoboth and Dewey, usually gearing up for the summer season, are quiet due to restrictions meant to halt the spread of COVID-19 amid a global pandemic. Chuck Snyder/Special to the Delaware News Journal

The beach areas of Rehoboth and Dewey, usually gearing up for the summer season, are quiet due to restrictions meant to halt the spread of COVID-19 amid a global pandemic. Chuck Snyder/Special to the Delaware News Journal

The beach areas of Rehoboth and Dewey, usually gearing up for the summer season, are quiet due to restrictions meant to halt the spread of COVID-19 amid a global pandemic. Chuck Snyder/Special to the Delaware News Journal

A woman tries to walk her dog on the closed Boardwalk in Rehoboth Beach as the beach areas of Rehoboth and Dewey are empty and quiet due the coronavirus pandemic. Chuck Snyder/Special to the Delaware News Journal

The beach areas of Rehoboth and Dewey, usually gearing up for the summer season, are quiet due to restrictions meant to halt the spread of COVID-19 amid a global pandemic. Chuck Snyder/Special to the Delaware News Journal

Access to Dewey Beach's shoreline is blocked as the beach areas of Rehoboth and Dewey, usually gearing up for the summer season, are quiet due to restrictions meant to halt the spread of COVID-19 amid a global pandemic. Chuck Snyder/Special to the Delaware News Journal

Big money toward local research amid coronavirus pandemic

Friday, April 3

Two substantial Delaware biotech institutions are planning to direct money to the development or manufacture of treatments and vaccines that could combat the coronavirus pandemic.

Wilmington-based Incyte announced Thursday that its blockbuster cancer drug, Jakafi could be repurposed to treat coronavirus patients suffering from severe and sometimes-fatal immune reactions, called cytokine storms.

About 15 miles from Incyte's headquarters is the Newark-based National Institute for Innovation in Manufacturing Biopharmaceuticals, or NIIMBL, a public-private partnership of government, universities and companies tasked with solving advanced-manufacturing challenges in the biotech industry. It also just received a $10 million injection from the federal government.

A researcher works at the chemistry lab at Incyte in Wilmington.(Photo: SUCHAT PEDERSON/THE NEWS JOURNAL)

Masks in public now recommended, how to make one

Friday, April 3

All Americans should wear masks in public, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday. This is expected to exacerbate an already existing strain on such supplies.

Around the state, different organizations are teaming up to make masks for first responders and healthcare workers. Hospitals have provided recommendations and instructions on how to make masks to help their workers.